Results 141-160 of 1,491 for long speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (23 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy (HMP). It was revised in March 2021 and comprehensive guidance was provided to local authorities at the time. Social housing is a long-term support intended to support households that have continuing, long-term difficulty meeting their own accommodation needs. This is reflected in the underpinning legislation and the HMP...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (23 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Under Housing for All, there is provision for 200 social housing acquisitions each...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. The Policy was revised in March 2021 and comprehensive guidance was provided to local authorities at the time. Social housing is a long-term support intended to support households that have continuing, long-term difficulty meeting their own accommodation needs. This is reflected in the underpinning legislation and the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...-out – relevant information will be available online. It is not practical to store all correspondence in hard copy format indefinitely, and under GDPR certain information should be stored only for as long as is necessary. I cannot accept this amendment from a document-management point of view. However, I acknowledge some planning applications are of historic importance. All our...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...soon be available for publication. It is undergoing final checks in the Attorney General's office. That the State will be able to capture part of the uplift in value of a site due to rezoning is a long-overdue measure that needs to be taken. We put a lot of work into that Bill. I expect its publication to be imminent. It is to be hoped it will be published in advance of Report Stage...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes. Final checks on the Bill are being undertaken by the Attorney General and his office prior to publication. It is imminent. It depends how long more we are in this committee.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...way through, and the committee engaged with that. Pre-legislative scrutiny, stakeholder engagement, the planning forum - all of that was done. There is no way we will stop with the Bill. For how long does one consider the LRC report and its recommendations? I contend - I would, would I not? - that this is a sensible approach to it. We need the legislation passed, and Deputy Ó...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Plus there are only two other amendments, which related to the Long Title. There is quite a bit in this grouping but it is up to the Cathaoirleach and I can read my response into the record.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...“development;” and substitute the following: “development; to provide for proper planning and sustainable development in the interests of the common good;” These amendments relate to the Long Title of the Bill. Amendment No. 1193 amends the Long Title of the Bill to clarify that the purpose of the Bill is to consolidate and revise the law relating to planning...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...done under the Affordable Housing Act, thanks to the Deputies, it is the first time community land trusts have been mentioned in primary legislation and rightly so. They are covered under this as long as they are approved.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: On amendment No. 896, we had a long discussion. To make a general point, I have visited new social housing estates over the past four years and noted they were of top quality. Even in mixed developments, there was rightly no distinction between social, private and affordable housing. Unquestionably, there have been some legacy issues. I have encountered them myself but the issue simply...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Well, for as long as I am there, but, in fairness, that is a new scheme-----

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (16 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...of new social housing units. This loan facility can support from 25% to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements. A nominal interest rate of 2% fixed per annum is charged by the local authority on the initial capital...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...in a minute about what the commencement looks like, and one can only seek that once. Let us say we have a housing development. So from what I understand is being framed here, why would one want a longer duration? If one takes Intel, MetroLink, large strategic infrastructure or large residential developments that would be at scale, there will be appropriate times. These amendments do...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...is irrelevant or different. I would see this in a very small number of cases. I understand the point the Deputy made, namely that if something is held up for four or five years, a survey may no longer be valid. I am not making any changes to this insertion, but I will reflect on it. We do not know how long something will be in the courts. If something goes to the courts, we would...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: I ask the Deputy to think about it this way. If one applies, one might get a ten-year permission. The environmental assessments, etc., that are done are generally for a long period of time, such as the ten-year period in that instance, so we are not looking to add on to the end. We are stopping the clock. It might be a difference between ten years and 11 years. If one is granted...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). For 2023 the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Provision (11 Apr 2024)

Darragh O'Brien: ...through my Department's Voids Programme to supplement the local authority funding available for the preparation of vacant properties for re-letting. The funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock. An annualised breakdown by local authority of...